Billy Joel Is Back! Crowd Rewards Grammys Performance of ‘Turn the Lights Back on’ with Standing Ovation

We didn’t start the fire — Billy Joel did it with his smoking performance!

At Sunday’s 2024 Grammy Awards held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Joel, 74, took the stage to perform “Turn the Lights Back On.”

Piano Man of course took the grand piano to play the new tune. Dressed in a leather jacket and sunglasses, the music icon was joined by a full band, including several horn and string players to round out the entourage.

His voice sounded as strong as ever and he dazzled with a few moments showing off his keyboard skills. During the song, the stage lit up more and more – going from near darkness to technicolor – to create an emotional moment parallel to the song’s lyrics, which in part finds Joel reflecting on his own legacy to his fans.

Billy Joel performs at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

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After the performance, Joel received a warm response from the audience, who gave him a standing ovation as he smiled and bowed humbly.

Before the five-time Grammy winner and 23-time nominee graced the stage, a video featuring the legend as well as “Turn the Lights Back On” co-writer Freddy Wexler was shown. The songwriter, 37, explained how the track was two years in the making as he was “relentless” in getting the singer-songwriter back into the studio.

“The whole point of doing what I do was that it was a lot of fun when I first started. I kind of lost that after a while.” Joel said in the recording. “Freddy made me find joy again.”

The “Vienna” singer also closed out the ceremony with a final performance after Album of the Year was awarded to Taylor Swift, returning to the stage for a rocking rendition of his classic “You May Be Might.”

Joel, 74, was announced as a performer last week, alongside other A-list acts such as Billie Eilish, Burna Boy, Dua Lipa, Luke Combs, Olivia Rodrigo and Travis Scott.

Alexis Roderick, Billy Joel, Della Joel and Remy Joel.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

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His appearance at the Grammys marked his first televised performance of his new single and his first new song in over a decade. The song just came out on February 1st.

The track – which Joel first shared on Instagram on January 22 – is both a love ballad and a message to the hitmaker’s loyal fans, who have been waiting a long time for another new track.

“I’m late but I’m right here / And I’m trying to find the magic / that we somehow lost,” Joel sings in the song’s chorus. “Maybe I was blind / But now I see you / As we lie here in the dark / Have I waited too long / To turn the lights back on?”

Joel wrote the song with Arthur Bacon, Wayne Hector and the song’s producer, Wexler, who has worked on songs for artists including Ariana Grande, Selena Gomez and Post Malone. Along with the new lyric video, Joel has also released the song on a limited edition 7-inch vinyl.

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Billy Joel Drops ‘Turn the Lights Back On’, His First New Song in 17 Years — Listen!

Over his five-decade career, Joel has amassed a successful discography that includes songs such as “Piano Man,” “New York State of Mind,” “Only the Good Die Young,” “Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song),” “We Didn’t fire”, “The way you are”, “Scenes from an Italian restaurant”, “Big face”, “To me it’s still rock and roll”, “The girl from the upper town”, “The longest time”, “Vienna”, “My life” and “Only the good die young”.

The last new material Joel released was in 2007, when he dropped the one-off singles “All My Life” — which he wrote for then-wife Katie Lee — and “Christmas in Fallujah” with musician Cass Dillon. Before his 2007 singles, Joel had only released covers — including Carole King’s “Hey Girl” and Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love” — since his 1993 album. River of dreams.

The song comes as the artist ends his legendary decade-long residency at Madison Square Garden in New York. The concert will officially close later this year when he will play his 150th performance in the venue on July 25.

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Watch PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 66th Grammy Awards as it airs live on CBS from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

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Source: HIS Education